Sowing watts, reaping sustainability: Multi-dimensional performance of agrivoltaic electric vehicle charging systems

The transportation sector accounts for a significant portion of global energy consumption and emits substantial greenhouse gas (GHG). Utilizing photovoltaic (PV) charging facilities to power electric vehicles offers a viable pathway for decarbonizing transportation from both supply and demand perspectives. However, the expansion of PV installations has led to conflicts over agricultural land use. Agricultural photovoltaic charging facility (APCF) presents a solution to these challenges, yet there is currently a lack of lifecycle assessments evaluating their energy, environmental, and economic performance to demonstrate their sustainability potential. This study evaluates six types of APCF by employing cumulative energy demand, global warming potential, and techno-economic approaches, with PV charging facilities as a comparative baseline to demonstrate their value relative to the reference system. The results indicate: (1) The systems with the highest energy return on investment, GHG emissions, and net income are Full-panel Density (FD) + Level 2 charger (L2), FD + Direct Current charger (DC), and Single-axis Tracking (Axis) + L2, respectively. However, based on comprehensive ranking, the Axis + L2 emerges as the optimal configuration. (2) Fossil fuel consumption constitutes a significant share of both energy input and GHG emissions. The PV system's impact on energy, environment, and economics outweighs that of the agricultural and charging components. DC equipment underperforms L2 equipment across energy, environmental, and economic metrics. (3) The impact of electricity prices on the energy performance of APCF and the influence of APCFs on terrestrial organisms within ecosystems are more pronounced. Although all six APCF configurations surpassed their respective baseline systems in terms of overall indicators representing both environmental and economic performance, their energy return on investment was not as high as that of the baseline systems. This highlights the potential for APCF to enhance its performance through technological advancements. • Consider employing CExD, GWP, and techno-economic method to assess the multi-dimensional performance of APCF. • The system with the lowest input energy is the Axis+L2, yet the FD+L2 system demonstrates highest energy input-output efficiency. • The FD+DC system emits the highest unit greenhouse gases, with PV panels accounting for the largest proportion. • The Axis+L2 system has the highest economic return rate and demonstrates the best overall performance among the six APCFs.